diff --git a/api/github/oauth/start.ts b/api/github/oauth/start.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e6e7a842
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/github/oauth/start.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import type { VercelRequest, VercelResponse } from "@vercel/node";
+
+export const config = {
+  runtime: "nodejs",
+};
+
+export default async function handler(req: VercelRequest, res: VercelResponse) {
+  if (req.method !== "GET") {
+    res.setHeader("Allow", "GET");
+    return res.status(405).json({ error: "Method not allowed" });
+  }
+
+  const clientId = process.env.GITHUB_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID;
+  if (!clientId) {
+    console.error("[GitHub OAuth] Missing GITHUB_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID");
+    return res.status(500).json({ error: "GitHub OAuth not configured" });
+  }
+
+  const { state } = req.query;
+  const apiBase = process.env.VITE_API_BASE || "https://aethex.dev";
+  const redirectUri = `${apiBase}/api/github/oauth/callback`;
+
+  // Build GitHub authorization URL
+  const params = new URLSearchParams({
+    client_id: clientId,
+    redirect_uri: redirectUri,
+    scope: "user:email",
+    state: state ? decodeURIComponent(state as string) : "",
+  });
+
+  const githubAuthUrl = `https://github.com/login/oauth/authorize?${params.toString()}`;
+  return res.redirect(githubAuthUrl);
+}